Among the Unseen (23 page)

Helen looked up at Cedar, and there was a gentleness in her face that Cedar hadn’t seen—or noticed—before. “Thank you. I accept your apology, and I will do my part to help bridge the gap between our people. If you don’t mind, I would like to stay in Tír na nÓg for a while. I’m sure there is much I can learn here. And now that the jewels have been destroyed, there is no pressing need for me to return home. There will be a queue of scholars wanting my job, and they are welcome to it.”

“Of course,” Cedar said. “Eden will be delighted to hear that you are staying.”

“You were right to try to protect her, Your Majesty. If she were my daughter, I would feel the same way. I hope you understand that I was genuinely trying to help. And if I may be so bold, I believe you will be a new kind of queen—one who rules with her heart, not her sword. And that’s something that the Tuatha Dé Danann have not had in a very long time. This ‘strange world,’ as you call it, will be the better for it.”

CHAPTER 20

C
edar felt strangely calm as she approached the Hall the next morning. No guards had been sent to escort her, so she wondered if the Council had taken her abdication seriously. It didn’t really matter to her; she had done what needed to be done, and if giving up the title of queen was the price she had to pay, it had been well worth it.

She had left her hair down and was wearing a simple dress of spring green. The gold dress that had been made for her in Asgard was tucked away in the back of her wardrobe. She thought it might look good on Eden someday. She ignored the curious glances of those she passed as she made her way to the courtyard. Who knew what rumors were circulating about her now?

The Council was waiting for her when she arrived, seated in their circle of chairs in the center of the courtyard. They stood as one when she entered, and bowed to her.

Rohan was the one who greeted her. “Welcome, Your Majesty.”

“I’m not the queen anymore. I abdicated, remember?”

“Ah, yes, about that,” he said. “I hope you do not mind, but I took the liberty of convening an emergency session of the Council. After a great deal of discussion and, might I add, even more soul-searching, we have unanimously agreed to refuse to accept your abdication. We hope you will continue to do us the honor of being our queen.”

Cedar looked at the faces around the circle, a mix of pride and anticipation and sheepishness. “I don’t understand,” she said. “You opposed me every step of the way. You thought that saving the Unseen was a waste of our time.”

“We were wrong, to put it mildly,” said Rohan.

“Most of us have been here for a very long time, Your Majesty,” said Gorman. “And for most of that time, we have had no contact with other beings or races. Under Lorcan’s rule, life became a matter of survival, and most of us grew accustomed to looking after ourselves before all others. It won’t be easy to change, but if we want to live on as a great race, then change we must. And you are by far the best one to lead us there.”

For a moment, Cedar was speechless, but then she gathered herself. “Thank you,” she said. “It would be my honor.”

After the Council meeting, in which Cedar described her encounter with Thor and Odin in great detail, she walked home with Rohan. “How did you convince them?” she asked.

“It wasn’t hard,” he said. “
You
convinced them. They respect you, even if they don’t show it at times. You have all the attributes of our greatest leaders—they just look a little different in you because of your upbringing on Ériu. Your tenacity about the Unseen…well, it made us all reconsider our position—myself included. And then when Brighid died, it was something no one thought possible. You and she are quite alike, I must say.”

“Really?” Cedar asked. “How?”

“Out of all of us, the two of you were the only ones who were willing to risk your own lives to save the Unseen,” he said gently.

“And she paid with hers.”

“She did,” Rohan agreed. “But it wasn’t in vain. The two of you have had quite an impact on the Tuatha Dé Danann. You should hear them talking. They’re already saying you’re the greatest queen Tír na nÓg has seen in centuries. Lorcan did a lot of damage. People are excited about this new direction we’re taking.”

Cedar was silent as she thought about what Rohan had said. She didn’t feel like she was leading them in any particular direction—she was just trying to do the right thing. But maybe he was right—maybe it was time for her to stop being a reluctant queen, time for her to really determine what she and the other Tuatha Dé Danann could accomplish for good in the universe.

“Where are all my guards?” she asked, noticing that they were alone.

“Ah, yes. I think it will be fine to relax the security a bit. You’ve proven that you’re quite capable of taking care of yourself.”

Cedar said good-bye to Rohan once they reached their house. She found Finn sitting in the wicker swing in their room, staring out at the pond, no doubt thinking of Brighid. She took a deep breath and walked toward him.

“How did it go?” he asked, straightening up and smiling when he saw her. She sank down onto the chair next to him and filled him in on the Council’s change of heart. He didn’t seem surprised.

“You have that impact on people,” he said. “You certainly had it on me.”

She reached over and took his hand.

“Are you still upset with me for trying to stop you?” he asked. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

“I was—I am—hurt,” she admitted. “I’ve always felt like we were in this together, or at least that’s how it should be. But you stood against me earlier. You and everyone else.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but she put her fingers on his lips. “Which just proves that I am sometimes wrong, and that you love me enough to tell me so.”

She could feel his lips curve against her fingers. “I do love you. And even though I did think you were wrong, I truly would have gone with you.”

“I know. I don’t think I ever doubted that.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Well, now that I’m queen again, I’ve made the executive decision that I need a vacation,” she said.

“You deserve it,” he agreed. “Where do you want to go?”

Cedar looked around the room, her eyes settling on the large white bed. “I thought we might start over there,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “And then see where it takes us.”

Cedar tiptoed around the edge of the giant bush, stopping to inhale the scent of the enormous yellow flowers hanging from it. She heard a muffled giggle and froze. “I guess no one’s here,” she said loudly, a grin spreading across her face. She darted behind the bush, her hands outstretched, but she was too late. Squealing with laughter, Eden went tearing across the field. Cedar gave chase. “I’m going to catch you!” she yelled. She was within arm’s reach when the air in front of Eden flashed, and she disappeared. Cedar followed her through the sidh before Eden had a chance to close it and swept her daughter up into a hug.

“Hey!” Eden dissolved into laughter as Cedar held her upside down and tickled her.

“You’ll have to be faster than that if you want to beat me,” Cedar said.

“I didn’t want to close the sidh on you and cut you in half!” Eden said between shrieks.

“Uh-huh,” Cedar said, setting her back down. “Okay, now it’s my turn.”

“You’re too easy to find!” Eden said. “You can’t close them!”

“It’s true,” Cedar admitted. “Okay, you win. But that reminds me. I have an important job for you.”

“You do?” Eden said, her eyes lighting up at once.

“Mmm hmm. I’m letting the druids go home, and I’ll need some help making the sidhe back to Ériu.”

“Cool!” Eden exclaimed. “I can totally do that! And…do you think…?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think maybe we could go for a chocolate-chip bagel, like we used to?”

Cedar squeezed Eden’s hand as they started walking back home. “I think that would be just about perfect.”

EPILOGUE

T
he fire on the topmost point of the Hill of Tara was large enough to be seen by half of Ireland. Three times as tall as a person, it burned in a spectacular bouquet of reds, oranges, and yellows. Smaller fires dotted the hillside all around it, a tribute to Brighid, whose own flame had been extinguished. The druids had enchanted the hillside for the night, so that curious human eyes would be averted while they mourned their friend.

There was no body to bury, no remains to burn. But Cedar had insisted they do something to honor Brighid’s life, her sacrifice. And so, with Irial’s help, they invited everyone whose lives Brighid had touched, whether or not they knew it. The response was overwhelming. Most of the Danann came, and many of the druids. But what was truly remarkable was the outpouring of support from the Unseen. They showed up in droves, each group sending a delegation bearing gifts and tributes to the fallen Elder who had ensured their survival for hundreds of years, and to the queen who had freed them when the curse had fallen at last.

It was a gathering the likes of which had not been seen for millennia. Gods and druids and magical beings of all kinds ate and drank and cried and danced together between the flames, under a canopy of stars. Cedar wandered among them, hand in hand with Eden and Finn. She accepted words of comfort and gratitude from the Merrow, who had apparently forgiven the Danann for Nuala’s treachery. She smiled at Syrna, who had Irial pressed up against the trunk of a hawthorn tree, oblivious to the rest of the world. An old man, who turned out to be Logheryman’s brother, thanked Cedar for saving his life, though it had been too late for him to make amends with his brother. He had been brought to the celebration by Maggie, and was wearing what looked to be a hand-knit sweater. Cedar saw Abhartach too, and she kissed his tattooed cheeks. He grumbled so much it almost covered up the fact that he was exceedingly pleased to see her. And throughout the evening, she lifted glass after glass in toasts to Brighid, Eden, and herself.

Eden laughed in delight when a troop of pixies surrounded her and dragged her off to the nearest fairy circle for a dance. Cedar and Finn watched her run off with them, sharing an indulgent smile.

Toward the end of the evening, a flash of red hair caught Cedar’s eye from behind one of the small fires. She blinked, thinking it was a trick of the flame. But then there he was—a tall, still figure with a large stone hammer gripped in one hand.

“Where are you going?” Finn asked as she moved toward the newcomer.

“I think I see…Just give me a second.” Finn turned to speak with a púka, and Cedar made her way toward the edge of the gathering.

For a moment, they regarded each other silently. “How did you get here?” she finally asked. “I thought Bifrost was closed. I thought you were trapped.”

Thor shook his head. “Bifrost
was
closed, but not forever. When the jewels failed to work for Odin centuries ago, his madness overtook him, and he threatened to find Brighid and force her to tell him the truth. I did not doubt Brighid’s strength…but my father’s fury was not to be taken lightly. And so I pled with Heimdallr, the guardian of Bifrost, to destroy the bridge so that my father could not reach Midgard.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked back down at Cedar. “Heimdallr paid with his life when Odin discovered what had been done. But even with all his power, he could not rebuild the bridge without the key, which Heimdallr had entrusted to me. Odin thought it had been destroyed along with Bifrost. He could not reach her.”

“Thor,” Cedar said, her voice anguished. “
That’s
why you never came back. You trapped your father—and yourself—in Asgard to keep her safe. And she never knew.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” he said. “She was right to hate me. I betrayed her.”

“Brighid didn’t have room in her heart for hate,” she said. “I knew her well, and I’m certain she would have forgiven you.” Cedar felt a tug on her dress and looked down to see Eden, who was staring up at Thor with large brown eyes. Cedar smiled. “Thor, this is Eden. In her
true
form.”

Thor looked slightly horrified for a moment, but then he bent down and shook Eden’s outstretched hand. “Hello,” Eden said. “My mum told me that we’ve met before, but I don’t remember. So it’s nice to meet you.”

Thor’s eyebrows were raised, but he smiled. “And it’s nice to meet you, too, little one. You will be a very brave and beautiful lady when you grow up.”

“Cedar, look!” Jane, Felix, and Finn had joined them. Jane was pointing to something hovering in the air just behind Thor’s left shoulder. “That wispy thing! It’s what I saw right after Brighid died. You don’t think…?”

They all turned to look where Jane was pointing. A white flame the size of Cedar’s palm was floating through the air toward them. As they watched, transfixed, it floated in front of each one of them. As she felt it pass by her, Cedar experienced a burst of warmth and joy unlike anything she had ever felt before. Judging from the others’ reactions, they were feeling the same thing. Eden was giggling, and Jane was laughing and crying at the same time. Felix and Finn were taking great steadying breaths. And Thor…he reached out his hands, and the flame rested gently on them. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Then the flame rose up into the air once more and touched him on the lips before soaring toward the huge bonfire in the middle of the Hill. They saw it disappear into the flames, and a cascade of sparks shot high into the sky and then fell in a shower among them. And then it was over, and all the fires on the hillside went dark.

Cedar’s voice was strong and clear in the darkness. “Come. It’s time to go home.”